During the electioneering for the 2011 governorship election, nearly all the political parties and their candidates jostling for the coveted office in Oyo State employed the usual refrain to worm themselves into the hearts of the electorate. As they mounted the rostrum, all you hear then was ‘we will build roads; low-cost houses will be yours for the asking; it will be life in abundance for citizens and sojourners…’ In fact, some chose to revile past holders of the office or frontline opponents in the war of attrition. Like Jesus Christ, in one of his parables to the Pharisees in…

The outcome of the recent elections in several European countries - Austria, the Netherlands, Britain and France - is raising question about whether right-wing populism has peaked. The possibility that this ideology has run its course is further strengthened by the several challenges Donald Trump is facing in the USA, with his popularity plummeting in several polls while many are calling for his impeachment. Though there are several variants of right-wing populism, they are all united by their combination of ethnocentrism, anti-elitism, nationalism and xenophobia. Right-wing populism is essentially a political ideology that rejects the current political consensus in the…

Nigerians are all talking about restructuring. Now, that is funny. There are two types of Nigerians: those in government and those awaiting their turn in government. Forget all the talk about the size and potential of Nigeria’s economy. Forget all the talk about business, entrepreneurship, innovation, and the rise of a vibrant new demographic of creators defying the odds to crystallize into a 21st-century transnational elite. That is all puff and powder for there is really only one business in Nigeria and it is called government. Everybody is just really waiting for and on government. Every other sector and sphere…

Former Governor of Ogun State the late veteran Journalist Chief Victor Olabisi Onabanjo was a most vocal canvasser for a Confederation structure for Nigeria in those days. And in solid agreement with him were the likes of Elder statesman Chief Anthony Eronsele Enahoro, former Senate leader and Populist Dr Olusola Saraki, Chief Mbadiwe of the Timber and caliber fame, and Esaoke Orator the late Chief Bola Ige and several other distinguished as well as ordinary Nigerians who believed that the present wobbling structure was unwieldy and unsustainable. The myriad of problems confronting the geopolitical space called Nigeria today could be…